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Judging by the headline from something calling itself Texas Environmental News, the meeting of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday will be one of the momentous events in the annals of state government.

“Anderson Prepping: Watershed Moment in TCEQ History Now Less than 30 Days Away,” says an emailed blast from Texas Environmental News.

What might this moment be? Who is Anderson? And what is Texas Environmental News?

Jed Anderson, 47, is an industry lawyer whose Houston-area firm operates Texas Environmental News and who wants to join the TCEQ himself: The Texas Environmental News blasts are press releases, written by Anderson himself, that refer to him as a “TCEQ Commissioner Candidate” and to his efforts to simply regulations at the TCEQ.

Rarely does a person campaign publicly to be a gubernatorial appointee to head a state agency. Getting named to such a post is a subtle art, typically involving political connections and a sub rosa feeling-out by the governor’s office.

But don’t tell that to Anderson, who is eager to serve as one of three commissioners at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

On the face of it, there are a few problems: Anderson tells the American-Statesman he has not actually submitted an application for the post yet; the three-member commissioner currently has no opening; and conflict-of-interest laws appear to rule out his candidacy.

His self-written press releases also include what appear, at first blush, to be endorsement letters from across the political spectrum — from former Houston Mayor Bill White and former TCEQ chief Kathleen Hartnett White — but the letters, expressing enthusiasm for work on environmental regulatory matters undertaken by Anderson, are more than a decade old.

Jed Anderson. Photo courtesy of Jed Anderson.

Taken together, Anderson’s efforts to promote himself have left Capitol-watchers scratching their heads. Current and former TCEQ officials and other industry lawyers declined to comment on the record about Anderson’s efforts, but said the efforts were likely, if anything, to lead to disfavor with the governor.

In an interview, Anderson, who graduated from Baylor law school and has represented petrochemical companies and refiners, said seeking the commissioner post was a natural extension of the environmental regulatory work he has been doing the last 15 years.

“I thought I had been urging others to lead for so long, maybe I need to be willing to lead,” he said. “I’ve put myself out there and essentially am running for this office. Mostly people are circumspect about it. But hey, at least I publicly put my name in the ring.”

Commissioners are appointed by the governor and currently earn $189,500.

The current longest-serving commissioner, Chairman Bryan Shaw, said through an agency spokeswoman in May that he had no immediate intention of stepping down.

The rule-making petition Anderson submitted in April to the TCEQ included a cover letter that said the petition was composed “with the foremost intent of love.” It goes on for pages with quotes from everyone from Bruce Lee to Henry David Thoreau. The petition, which will be heard by TCEQ commissioners on June 7, calls on the agency to remove two regulations for each one it adds. The petition says rules should be written to simplify procedure, avoid delay, and save expense.

The TCEQ staff has recommended rejecting the petition because, the staff says, rules are already written with those goals in mind. And the requirement to remove two regulatory requirements for every added requirement “could jeopardize or interfere with federal program delegation or approval,” says the May 19 memo from TCEQ deputy director Caroline Sweeney and TCEQ staff attorney Janis Hudson.

In April, under the rubric of Texas Environmental News Anderson sent an email under the title with the headline “Letters Supporting TCEQ Commissioner Candidate Anderson’s Efforts to Simplify and Improve the Regulatory System.”

But the letters from Bill White and Kathleeen Hartnett White mentioned in the Texas Environmental News dispatch are from 2006.

Bill White said the letter should not be viewed as an endorsement — “I’m not in a position to endorse that fellow” — and Kathleen Hartnett White, who is reportedly being considered for an environmental post in the Trump administration, did not return a request for comment.

Anderson said in the interview that the letters were meant to show the breadth of support for his work, and are not meant to appear to be an endorsement of his candidacy for TCEQ commissioner: “I apologize if that’s the perception of them.”

Asked if the whole promotion was meant as a stunt to drum up business, Anderson said he’s “doing just fine” and repeated that he was interested in simplifying the rule-making process.

Still, there’s the prospect that conflict-of-interest rules bar Anderson from serving as commissioner. State rules forbid anyone who is employed by or participates in the management of a business or other organization regulated by the commission or receiving money from the commission from joining the commission – and Anderson has been hired by a variety of companies regulated by the TCEQ.

“It’s nothing that can’t be surmounted if the governor and the people want me to serve,” Anderson told the American-Statesman. “If we can put a man on the moon, we can put this man on the commission. Not that hard. Just a question of will.”